brickclubfandomcom-20200213-history
1.1.9-Sarah1281
Brick!Club 1.1.9 The Brother as depicted by the Sister I really don’t get why the version I have persists in saying things like ‘Bishop of D——’ instead of ‘Bishop of Digne.’ It’s really, really obvious what he’s talking about and I bet it was just as obvious back when the book first came out. Possibly more so since the people reading it would know more about French geography than I do. And they would just generally be more knowledgeable about French things. What was the point in clearly talking about real places but doing such a poor job camouflaging them? I do have to wonder how it was that Baptistine (I really should stop calling her the sister but her name is just so difficult and, unlike with the main characters, I haven’t internalized how to spell it yet) and Magloire came to find paintings hidden under ten layers of wallpaper. Why were they removing ten layers of wallpaper? No one else felt the need to do that when re-wallpapering. Surely they could have removed only a few. And why in the world would the first people to paper over the paintings have papered over them in the first place instead of taking the paintings down like normal people? It seems kind of lazy but actually creating more work because it cannot be easy to try and paper over a surface that is not even because part of it is just the wall and part has paintings up. Just…who even does that? It’s a good thing that they did, I guess, and that the paintings aren’t very good or the bishop would find a way to use them to benefit the poor. It is depressing that Baptistine can’t even have twelve francs to have nice tables. It’s twelve francs. The Bishop is giving away literally thousands a year. But I suppose if they spent the money on that the Bishop would continue to give away the same amount of money and the women would starve themselves so that the Bishop might continue to eat and he would not notice at all. I really have to question if Baptistine is really as happy as she says she is. I mean, one minute she says very happy and the next she mentions that she is very cramped and the winter is trying. Yes, some have it worse but that doesn’t make her situation good or necessitate that she must be happy! When you get to the point where, despite thousands of francs a year coming into the household, she feels that being ALMOST sufficiently lighted and warmed is a “great treat” then there is a problem. I’m surprised the Bishop consents to allow her money to write and post her letters. It seems like she’s under the impression that spending any money on herself at all is robbing the poor. Charity is important but that sort of feeling of obligation just goes too far. It’s okay to properly take care of yourself. Skipping ahead a little but the Bishop’s insistence that nobody worry about him while he exposes himself to all the dangers in the world reminds me of Valjean. It’s amazing how quickly he gets the Bishop’s philosophy down and how well he can mold himself after the man given how little time he actually spends with him. It makes me wonder just what the Bishop mentioned in that dinner. Hugo seems to have this weird thing about (well, everything female actually) it being nice for women to gently and lovingly scold the men in their life and I just don’t get it, especially since the men just sort of seem to ignore it. I would find it quite unpleasant to be scolded and yet he seems to see it as a good sign. Here is the part that I was trying to find earlier about how Baptistine and Magloire know that when the Bishop dies they will die, too. They seem cool with it (at least Baptistine) even though it is completely avoidable if he would just set aside a little money so that they will not die horribly of neglect and deprivation once he dies, particularly with him courting death the way he does. But no, he remains just so good! But then, given Baptistine’s life, does she really have anything to live for? Her days, with the luxury of ALMOST having her needs met and being permitted to clean, seem pretty bleak and miserable. Not that the Bishop seems to notice what he is putting her through. Valjean would say that women and children should not be made to suffer but, well, the Bishop evidently feels differently. “After all, what is there for us to fear in this house?” Quite possibly the devil that you just said your brother would invite in. God may dwell in the house but He’s not going to personally intervene if someone decides to kill you! I’ve decided I just like the movie Bishop so much better. Even when Baptistine and the narrator are trying to make me think highly of him, they go about it wrong. Or perhaps just too far in the past for me to possibly be able to agree with their values. I do wonder if Baptistine is being sassy herself when she says that it’s a good thing that Sylvanie doesn’t bother to write to her and then guilts the girl by saying that she’s sure that she’s loved. Her health isn’t bad but she grows thinner every day? It sounds like SOMEBODY is literally starving. Perhaps the great-nephew of the person Baptistine is writing to really is charming but she used the kid seeing something strange on someone’s knees and so asking what it was as an example and I wouldn’t characterize that as charming. Or anything else, really, save perhaps curious. That’s something literally anybody would do regardless of their charm status You would think that these women could use their ‘special feminine genius’ of understanding the Bishop better than he understands himself to get enough food to eat so they’re not literally starving unnecessarily but, well, I suppose that would displease the Bishop. These traits still do not seem to me to be good things no matter how many times Hugo tells me that they are. I do not think I would be able to respect these women if I knew them in real life. Suffering to this extent because your brother/employer has a martyr complex and wants to deprive himself of everything and selfishly does not consider the pain he is inflicting on you is not noble or intelligent or anything else good. He may be their Bishop but, seriously, what has he EVER done to deserve this sort of self-sacrificing and foolish loyalty? At this point it seems like they are just over-awed by his title and possibly his penis. I just read this book three months ago and it didn’t occur to me just how awful the Bishop could be to those around him even as he tried his best to save everyone who did not happen to live with him, possibly because I just wanted to hurry through those sections. I want to hurry up and get to Valjean because at least when he suffers and deprives himself of things he doesn’t drag anybody else along with him! I’m sure I’m not supposed to conclude that Valjean is actually a far better person than the Bishop but, well, it’s too late. I’ve gone and concluded it. He gives far more to charity than the Bishop ever could, too, so even on that front he wins. Commentary Safe-is-relative Yes! This is everything that I wanted to say but couldn’t quite put into writing.